Altitude Makes All the Difference

I see a lot of questions about whether the stock antenna that comes with many of the RTLSDR dongles is any good. The answer is dependent on many variables, including how high you have the antenna placed. Today I did a test and took a dongle, the stock antenna and my laptop to Toronto Pearson …

Using 2 RTLSDR dongles to expand coverage

If you’re like me, you’ve setup your RTLSDR dongle, you’ve connected some software to it, you’ve seen some aircraft on your screen and you’ve said, “Cool! How do I see more?” If you’re even more like me, you can’t get your antenna up to the roofline so it has a nice 360˚ view of the …

Connecting PlanePlotter directly to RTL1090

The beauty of technology today is that it provides for flexibility, often allowing you to achieve one thing in many ways. In my last blog post, I showed you how to go from RTL1090 to Virtual Radar Server, and then to branch the feed off to PlanePlotter, ADSBScope and FlightRadar24’s feeder software. This time around, …

Using a RTLSDR Dongle for ADS-B

I like planes. I like radios, too. When I discovered that a USB dongle designed for receiving over-the-air television signals could also be used to receive ADS-B broadcasts from commercial aircraft, I knew I had to try it. I mean, it combines two of my hobbies, so not trying it was simply not an option. …